


A Little Longer

by DarcSarc (Sarosia)



Series: Little Bits [5]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gay, Grief, Horror, M/M, Short, Short Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:07:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22164547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarosia/pseuds/DarcSarc
Summary: All Cody wanted was a perfect life with his husband. Life had other plans, as usual
Series: Little Bits [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1576819
Kudos: 1





	A Little Longer

After nearly five years of marriage, there shouldn't have been this kind of pressure to get even the little things right. Every move he made, every word that came from his mouth - they were all carefully controlled. Cody had learned how to live with this kind of weight pushing on his body and mind like a second gravity. He'd learned to live with it and even love it on occasion.

Did that make him sick? Had marriage changed him so much that he was willing to submit to his every whim and demand? Had he lost all control over himself in favor of his husband?

"Cody!" Ross' voice rang out from the living room.

Cody sucked in a small gasp. Ross' call had jarred him out of his own thoughts at just the right time. The pancake in the skillet was covered in little bubbles bursting one after another. When he flipped it, the other side was almost too dark to be acceptable.

Cody cursed at himself for being so stupid. For letting himself get lost in thoughts that didn't matter in the long run. After nearly five years of marriage, he was still in love, still willing to do every single thing Ross asked him to. That was something very special.

After adjusting the heat under the pan, Cody went to the door that led into the living room. All he could see of his husband was the back of his head and the metal back of his chair. The television was showing a ballet troupe. To Cody, it appeared to be a rendition of Swan Lake.

Of course. One of Ross' favorites. To watch and perform. Cody walked up behind his chair, lightly setting his hands on Ross' shoulders to give him a gentle massage. "Yes, Dear?"

"Where's my fuckin' coffee?" Ross coughed. It was a dry, dusty sound that reminded Cody of the pledge he made to himself when he got Ross out of bed this morning: to get Ross to understand that he was sick and they needed to call a doctor. Not that he would listen, but Cody had to try. If not for Ross' health, then for his own peace of mind.

"I was about to bring it to you. The pot just finished."

"Need my coffee. Only thing that makes me feel alive. Besides you, Love." Ross said, another cough serving to punctuate it.

Cody bent forward to press a kiss to the top of Ross' head. Later, he would need to clean this room again. The smell that kept building up in here was a fetid, almost alive thing that kept returning no matter what he did to quash it.

Cody filled Ross' favorite mug - from the American Ballet Theatre Company - and brought it to him. As long as he'd known him, Ross had taken his coffee black and strong enough to wake the dead.

That thought made him stop mid-step. If only simple caffeine held so much power.

There was a small end-table set up next to Ross' chair and that was where he set it. The cup was within perfect reach, but Ross didn't move to take it. "Drink up. Breakfast will be ready shortly. I'll roll you to the table in a moment."

Ross said nothing, silently watching the performance unfolding on the screen. Cody nodded to himself and returned to the kitchen. He buttered Ross' pancakes for him and smeared strawberry preserves between them. That was the way Ross had always taken his pancakes. Never syrup, the lovable freak.

As if he were working in a restaurant, Cody set up Ross' place to perfection. The plate was perfectly centered between his utensils. Fork on the left and knife on the right. A glass of orange juice for his health and milk to soothe the burn the citrus left on his tongue. Two strips of bacon and a sausage patty on a small plate to the right of the knife.

Cody let himself feel pride at the setting before going back to the living room. The mug was still full. Cody let out a breath. Not today, then.

Cody freed the locks on the wheels. "Ready for breakfast?"

Ross made a sound somewhere between a grunt and a groan followed by a cough. Cody backed them up and rolled Ross to his place at the kitchen table. Ross didn't move to take his fork.

Cody kissed the top of his head again. "Come on, Love, you need to eat something."

Ross still didn't move.

Cody squeezed the handles on the back of the chair. "Goddamn you."

Ross didn't speak.

"I still don't understand how you can do this to me." Cody said. Tears were already pricking at his eyes. "You lost your legs, not your stomach!"

Ross didn't speak.

"So what if you can't dance? Did you carry your heart in your legs, too?!" Cody's own heart pounded against the backs of his ribs. Tendrils stretched from the organ to loop around those ribs. With a strength that Cody didn't possess anywhere else in his body, they pulled. His breastbone split in the creation of a fault line that sent shock waves through Cody's body.

Ross didn't speak.

"Damn you, damn you, damn you!" Cody stepped around him to grab his plate. "Why won't you fucking eat?!"

The plate crashed onto a pile of glass and other uneaten breakfasts. Cody stared at the pile. The strength fled from his body and Cody barely managed to stumble to his chair across the table. He stared at the empty space in front of him, the smooth tabletop with no setting for himself.

It took several long minutes for Cody to feel like he was back in control of himself. Only then did he raise his eyes to his husband. His eyes had been the first thing to go. They seemed to melt right out of the sockets in the first couple of days. His body bloated and shrank back down to the emaciated state he'd been in when the ghost left it.

Cody's stomach was the loudest thing in the house. Not that he cared what it had to say about anything. Ross couldn't move past the accident that took his love away: dance.

Cody wasn't given the option of moving on or giving up. Ross made the decision for both of them.

Wasn't that the way marriage always ended up? Decisions made by one were suffered by both.

In the back of his mind, Cody heard Ross speak once more. "Just a little longer, Love. Just a little longer."

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think. 
> 
> Cross-posted to Inkitt @DarcSarc Come find me! 
> 
> Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great rest of the day!


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